The First Two Weeks in Camp Arifjan, Kuwait

(Sorry for some of the redunancy. I wrote this at work and then uploaded it at my bunk.)

Quick note: I’m back in the Army now, so I’ve got used to talking in “Military Time” or using the 24 hour clock.

Convert Military Time: http://www.spacearchive.info/military.htm

We arrived in Kuwait City late on Thursday the 21st of May. 8 hours of a day gone just like that! We loaded up on buses for the trip to Ali Al Saleem. It was interesting because we were told no personal electronic devices and we had to keep the curtains closed on the bus. Most of the soldiers (as soldiers do) just went to sleep, but I’m the curious type, so I peeked. Airport, desert…..not much to see. It was dark by this time. What I did notice was that everything was so lit up. They have artificial light all over the place.

Kuwait City Info: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kuwait_City

We had a sort of strange stop mid-way through the trip. They had an area in the middle of no where secured with concrete barriers. We stopped here just for a break. It was simply a gravel area with lines of porta johns and stacks and stacks of bottled water. We spent about 30 minutes here and then headed on.We arrived at the Ali Al Saleem Air Force base around 2000hrs. We went thru formation and then a quick in-processing. My first experience on a desert post. Big warehouse type buildings and lots and lots of tents. We were starving, so MAJ Jim Schultz and I went to find dinner. We just had missed chow, which closed at 1930hrs, but guess what we found on this little dessert Air Force base? McDonalds! They really are everywhere. Quick dinner and then it was time to find our bags and look to catch the bus to Camp Arifjan. We were told that one of our guys was supposed to meet us to help us get to Arifjan.

Ali Al Saleem Air Base Info: http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/facility/ali-al-salem.htm

We found our bags and then we found MAJ Phil Speth waiting for us in the MWR tent.

What is MWR? http://www.armymwr.com/

Phil had a nice surprise for us. He’d been able to get an SUV with a co-pilot to take us and our gear to Camp Arifjan. Very nice! I had not been looking forward to lugging 4 very heavy bags on a bus to another post. We policed up our gear and headed out about 2200hrs.This ride was my introduction to Kuwaiti highways and Kuwaiti drivers. We wound our way out of the security gates at Ali Al Saleem and jumped on the highway. What struck me at first was how well lit the roads are here. You seriously don’t need head lights. They have very bright street lights that line up and down the center of these 3-4 land highways. The second thing that struck me was how everyone drives here. It’s like driving in Atlanta only faster and they pass you any way they can. Phil was giving us the low down as people were flying past us, and we were riding with the flow. They pass on the shoulders. If they can’t pass, they get right up on you and blink their lights until you get over or they find a way to pass. On top of all that, driving down the road and we go from three lanes to zero lanes. There were no lane lines! That’s when everyone decided that 4-5 wide was OK. It was like being in a Daytona 500.

Kuwait Info: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kuwait

It took us about 1 ½ hours to get from Ali to Camp Arifjan. Ali is on the northern border close to Iraq. Camp Arifjan is on the south western border near Saudi Arabia. The entire country is about the size of Rhode Island, so you blink your eyes (or miss and exit) and you could be at the border. We rolled into Camp Arifjan about 0030hrs. It took us about 15 minutes to get through the gates. We had to check our IDs and paperwork 3 different times. Being a combat zone there are some pretty stringent rules, even though this is an allied country. You have to have two people in the vehicle to leave post and both have to be armed with ammo. You have to have a signed letter. You have to have a risk assessment and you have to document all leave time, mileage, etc. every time you leave and enter a post. Finally, you have to get out and clear your weapon before you drive on to post.Anyway, we finally got to the housing office late that night. It’s called the “I” building simply because it’s shaped like an I. We checked in and of course they could find none of the paperwork that had been turned in on us, but they found us nice little bunks in the open bays. Apparently, t his is the transition barracks where everyone stays before the deploy into Iraq, re-deploy, or for short stays. We’re told that we get on a waiting list and we’ll get to move into Bldg 507, and residential building for ARCENT folks staying here for the long haul. They have two person rooms w/ TVs and fridges in this building. So, for now we’re in the open bays. We moved in to our bunks in the dark of course. Thank goodness for Phil and MSG Stewart who road along as Phil’s TC. They helped us haul all our gear.I was given an upper bunk, but there were a lot of bunks available, so I went back down to the desk and had them switch me to a lower bunk. I wasn’t to interested in jumping up and down out of bed each day. We each one locker…..picture this….we have all the gear the Army’s issued us since we mobilized. I have 4 large bags. No way this’ll all fit in a wall locker. They have these cages for extra stuff going up and down the middle of the bay, but they were all full. I was too tired to worry about it. I just laid down and crashed. (Even with the snoring and people moving around at all hours.)

The next morning Jim snagged a cage and we threw all our stuff in. One less thing to worry about…your stuff disappearing. (BTW, they logisticians estimate they issue soldiers deploying today about $17,000 worth of stuff. American tax dollars!) We cleaned up and headed right to work for the 0800hrs morning shift change brief. No chance to fight off the jet lag! Phil jumped right in and started training us. Again…just like in Atlanta…put the fire hose in my mouth and turn it on. Neither of us had every done this job before, so everything but how to use the computers was brand new. These are the points where my stories get very vague. Jim and I are going to work at US ARCENT’s forward command center. It’s highly secure and most everything we look at every day is classified SECRET. (This is already driving my Dad crazy.  I can’t give him many details.) I leave this part with it’s a desk job, and I look at a lot of screens all day until something happens in my area and I have to spring into action.Anyway, this was the next couple of weeks. Sleep (fitfully), eat (good chow), work, and work-out.

They have fantastic facilities here. They’re as good or better as any post I’ve been on since mobilized. That includes Ft. Jackson, Camp McCrady, Ft. Gordon, and Camp Shelby. The gyms are equipped with every piece of equipment you could want. They have flat screen TVs all over the place to include the gyms and mess halls. They’ve got fast food joints like Taco Bell, Burger King, and Pizza Inn. (I’ve avoided them so far.) The chow halls have salad bars, specialty bars, tons of fruit, and Baskin Robbins ice cream (which I’ve also avoided so far). That part is as bad as Camp McCrady from the beginning.

And I digress back to the parts that are no fun.....you have not privacy. Someone always snores. People work on different shifts. You have no space for your stuff. And, lights don’t go out until 2200hrs. I really can’t wait to get a room. How long will we have to wait is the question….I’m just trying to settle into a rhythm. We’re working 12 hours shifts 6.5 days a week. Jim volunteered to take nights, so I’m working 0600hrs – 1800hrs.

I’m trying to work into a system where I work out and shower at lunch. I then have my time after shift change and chow for laundry, phone calls, checking e-mails, and ultimately sleep. We’ll see. They say the first 30 days is the toughest part.

It is hot, hot, hot here! The average temperature since I’ve been here has been about 115 degrees. When I walk across post at lunch time (about a 15 minute walk) it feels like I’m cooking. The thing is…there is 0 humidity. I sweat, but just from the heat. You carry a drink around or lay it on a desk and there never is a ring. That freaked me out the first time I saw it. I’d forgotten about a fountain drink that I got from the mess hall and when I remember I was like, oh damn, I’m going to get paperwork wet. No condensation!